• It took me 15 years to build up to my high school life. It took one second to bring all that crashing down around me. Was it my destiny to be different from the rest of the world? If I had made the choice to walk home a different way, would I still be living a normal life?
    Psh, no way.

    I can still remember what she was wearing that day, the quiet scuff of our shoes on the cement, how pleasantly cool it was for a September afternoon. A cool breeze swept us along down the sidewalk. It was just the second week of the year at our new high school, so we could leisurely walk home without worrying about grades. Mine, I knew would steadily deteriorate as the year passed.
    I was worried about something though. I glanced at Belzedere from the corner of my eye. My long, black bangs hid my creased brow, although I don't know if I looked particularly worried. Somehow, my face never showed the emotions that roiled within, no matter how I struggled to smile or frown or cry. Last year had been the worst out of all other school years with Bel, when we were in grade school we'd had every class together and few friends besides each other. Then in eighth grade, she was suddenly surrounded by new "best friends" who pushed me aside without a second thought. I had stood to one side, feeling my heart slowly die. At last, when the school year had dwindled to an end, I had tried to tell her something. I had thought that if she knew, we might grow back together. But no, fate would not let me have my way. Instead, she ignored my feelings and went on about her life.
    This time things would be different. I wouldn't let her get away from me again. Although she did seem to be closer to me this year, I couldn't risk Bel growing away from me again, I didn't think I could bear it a second time.
    This week she had been strange, I couldn't explain what it was, just a feeling. Things that she said, specific movements maybe, things that seemed unlike her. I didn't know if that would change anything in our relationship, but I had to know what was going on…
    "Umm…Bel?" She turned to me.
    "What is it, Lo?" I looked down for a moment, then haltingly spoke.
    "Is everything alright?" She looked mildly puzzled, "What do you mean?"
    "Umm…well…you haven't been like yourself anymore, like…you haven't been sarcastic with me or ignored me when I say weird things or snap at someone…."
    "Oh, come on, Laurel, would I do mean stuff like that to you? We're best friends after all. I wouldn't hurt you like that!" I flinched, of course she would. That's how she'd always been to me, that's how I'd always functioned with her. Was she being serious? I stopped walking and shivered. The cool breeze wasn't so pleasant anymore, more chilling than comforting. I thought back through the past week. Brushing off her gang of "best friends" to walk over and hug me, or laughing at a weak joke I'd told. Sure, it was nice, but it wasn't like Bel at all.
    I could have just let it go, let her have her way. But then, I knew, the suspicion would continue to color my thoughts about her. Then I might even lose her as a friend… Who knows what would happen to my mind then.
    "Are you sure? If there's anything weird at home, please tell me. I…know something's wrong!" She leaned against a brick wall. Her black eyes grew impossibly even darker and even a bit menacing. "I thought you liked that kind of stuff," she accused. "I thought- you liked being able to cling to me like a little leech all the time." My heart beat faster, the sky had turned dark and cloudy, blocking the sun and casting a shadow over us. The courage that had propelled me along this track suddenly disappeared.
    "No…" I stuttered, "No, I…don't want that…I just want…"
    "Want, want, want." She twisted her mouth into a grinning sneer. "What do you want?" I stepped back, "I…" Something finally clicked into place, something that had been in the back of my mind the whole time, wriggling and struggling to be noticed. She wasn't Belzedere…this person…wasn't the friend I had trusted with my secrets and fears since so long ago, this was…an imposter…
    "I JUST WANT-"
    But before I could finish, the wall behind her rumbled and burst with a deafening crash. I covered my head with my arms because bricks and mortar were flying everywhere. When I looked up, all I could see was dust rising and swirling from the ruined wall, creating shadowy monsters in the air. No sound perpetrated the strange atmosphere. I strained my eyes, trying to discern something, anything, that might give a clue as to what had happened. I glimpsed a figure through the gray particles that hung ominously in the air.
    "Bel…" I gasped and stumbled forward, just then, I didn't care whether Bel was Bel or not. I just wanted to know that she was safe.
    The figure held a bright white light in its fist, dangling to the side, a flashlight? No, it seemed warmer and too alive to be a regular light bulb, and wasn't the figure too tall to be Belzedere? The gentle wind had stopped, but something glinted and fluttered from the figure like fronds from a delicate fern.
    Then the sun came out from the clouds. Rays of light pierced the motes of dust and hit the figure full force. I saw him for only the tiniest portion of a second, but the image burned itself into my eyes. He appeared an angel with long blond hair cascading around his face and his eyes were a deep, liquid blue. He clasped a bright light, no longer white, but a sparkling red. He was beautiful, but there was danger about his stance, and I knew instinctively that He had been the one who had broken the brick wall and smashed it to pieces.
    And then the moment passed.
    I gasped, he had moved more quickly than my eyes could follow, grasped my throat and lifted me clear of the ground. My eyes locked with his, and I froze, unable to even attempt to scream. His eyes were darker than I had realized and soulless. Definitely not emotionless, there was plenty enough anger in them to banish any thought of that, but somehow, I could tell. He was far from heavenly, there had been no seraphim so devoid of soul. I hung limp, filled with an unexplainable sadness for this dark creature.
    As my emotion swelled, a strange look crossed his face. He let go of me as if my skin had suddenly burst into flame. I fell, luckily missing the jagged bricks. Still feeling the weight of a choking sob for such a hopeless fate, I just looked up at him. He took a step back, staring at me, his eyes huge, looking for all the world like a child who's done wrong.
    Then I realized, there really was something in my throat. I tried to inhale, but I couldn't suck in any air. My chest tightened in pain, wanting air. In a sudden panic, I expelled the remaining air in my lungs with the help of the adrenaline running in my veins. Something glowing flew from my mouth into my hands. For a split second all was silent and I gazed at the cold, shining marble that had come from within me.
    "NO!" The devil standing before me broke his silence at last with an exclamation that faded into darkness. In my last moment, I wondered dimly where Bel really was, and why someone was acting in her place. Then my eyelids closed with a cold finality.

    next chapter: Chapter 2